1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to article dispensing apparatus and, specifically, to article dispensing apparatus which randomly select and dispense articles in a controlled manner and, more specifically, to game article dispensing apparatus for randomly selecting game articles one at a time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dispensing devices are widely employed to select and dispense articles from a bin or hopper containing a large number or bulk supply of articles in a controlled manner, such as successively, one at a time. Such devices are used in manufacturing operations to select and align small parts in a single line for loading or insertion into other parts.
Article dispensing apparatus of the type described above also are employed in games to randomly select one article from a large number of loosely arranged articles. Such articles, typically in the form of round balls, carry indicia, such as numbers or letters, for use in playing a game or to award prizes. Such devices typically incorporate a rotatable drum or pan containing a plurality of loosely arranged articles which are discharged from the pan one at a time when an outlet opening in the pan is aligned with a discharge chute. Most of the these devices utilize gravity to move the article from the spinning or rotating drum into the discharge chute with the result that the articles have little momentum when entering the discharge chute.
Despite the large number of dispensing apparatus which have been devised to randomly select and dispense articles from a bulk supply of articles, it would still be desirable to provide an article selection apparatus which increases the randomness of selection of single articles from a bulk supply of loosely arranged articles. It would also be desirable to provide an article selection apparatus which forcibly dispenses articles from a hopper with a high momentum or velocity. It would also be desirable to provide an article selection apparatus which has widespread application and can be used with different sized and shaped articles without significant modification.